Charges in Shands Bridge accident

Two drivers responsible for a chain reaction crash in September that caused the death of a Middleburg woman have been charged by the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to FHP Lt. Bill Leeper, a ladder fell onto the roadway of the bridge from the roof of a van owned by Air Max in Orange Park the morning of Sept. 17.

The fallen ladder sent vehicles swerving around it.

Sheri Hamilton, 39, of Middleburg, was on her way to work in St. Augustine and talking with her 13-year-old daughter on a cell phone when she drove around the ladder.

When she slowed, her car was slammed from behind by a cement truck owned by Florida Rock Industries in Jacksonville. The impact pushed her Jeep Cherokee through the guardrail and into the St. Johns River.

The driver of the van that dropped the ladder, Roger Nelson of Middleburg, was charged with failure to secure a load, Leeper said. Cement truck driver Marcus Lucas of Green Cove Springs was charged with careless driving.

Months before, on June 4, a 73-year-old St. Johns County man was killed in a similar manner after being hit from behind while driving his van over Shands Bridge.

A Ford Explorer rear-ended Edwin Menard's car as traffic slowed, sending it over the thin guardrail. He drowned.

Troopers said Menard was on his way to visit his stepson in Orange Park.

In response to those two deaths, the Florida Department of Transportation made plans to make the bridge safer, according to DOT spokeswoman Gina Busscher.

She said the bridge rails will be protected with denser barriers, known as Jersey barriers, to shield motorists who might be pushed off the road. The estimated cost of that project is $1.16 million.

However, before they are constructed, engineers are now looking into how much it would cost to widen both lanes on the bridge by two feet. This would provide a safe area for pedestrians to cross, she said.

"We don't know that we're going to do that for sure. We're just asking them to look into that possibility," Busscher said.

If they choose to widen the bridge, thicker barriers will be added after the widening, Busscher said. She said engineers should have estimates available by next week.

In its last inspection by the DOT, Shands Bridge received a 57.9 rating out of 100, meaning it is in fair condition, according to Joe Stephenson, a former DOT employee.

Busscher said the railing that protects motorists from plunging in the river received the lowest possible rating, but did not have to be replaced until the bridge received an overall failing rating. The deaths did prompt immediate changes, including making the bridge a no-passing zone, she said.

But Jersey barriers, 1 foot, 6 inches wide at the base and 32 inches tall with reinforced concrete, are not foolproof, Busscher said.

In 1999, a ladder fell off a pickup on the Buckman Bridge, which connects Mandarin to Orange Park. A semi hit the pickup and sent it over the side of the Jersey barrier and into the St. Johns River, killing the driver and a passenger, Busscher said.

Shands Bridge was built in 1961 to connect St. Johns and Clay counties along State Road 16. The speed limit is 55 mph over the bridge and approximately 11,000 cars pass over it each day, according to the DOT.